KSE-100 inches upward as political tensions ease

The upward momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday and the KSE-100 Index rose 0.28% on the back of alleviation of political tensions and encouraging financial results.

The government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) began negotiations on Thursday, raising expectations of the resolution of prolonged political crisis in Pakistan.

By the end of the session, the KSE-100 Index rose 116.94 points or 0.28% to close at 41,580.85 points.

Aided by robust financial results, KSE-100 rises 0.89%

Trading began upward and the market ended first session with modest increase. Selling pressure gripped the market in the second half of the day and erased few of the gains.

Banking sector saw massive buying activity but chemical and cement spaces remained mixed. On the other hand, automobile segment saw substantial divestment.

A report from Capital Stake stated that positive sentiment continued to surround the PSX on last trading session of the week.

“Indices traded in green all day long while volumes surged from last close. Lack of political tension and ongoing result season helped retain investors’ interest in the market.”

On the economic front, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $30 million, clocking in at $4.46 billion as of April 21, data released on Thursday showed.

Pakistani rupee registered a marginal increase of Re0.08 against the US dollar to close at 283.84.

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE-100 index forward included banking (69.20 points), pharmaceutical (39.97 points) and chemical (17.80 points).

Volume on the all-share index fell to 169.1 million from 186.9 million on Wednesday while the value of shares traded increased to Rs6.25 billion from Rs5.78 billion recorded in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 23.2 million shares followed by Pak Refinery with 22.2 million shares and Silk Bank with 21.8 million shares.

Shares of 337 companies were traded on Friday, of which 165 registered an increase, 154 recorded a fall and 18 remained unchanged.